Carnival

Out front, a white pickup truck blew its horn. Inside Don grabbed
his bag lunch and ran for the door. "I'm outta here!" he called to his
wife.
"OK," she answered, coming around the corner from the kitchen. "Have a
good day," she said with a contented smile.
"I will," he said, stepping over to her, taking her in his arms and
planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'll probably be home a little
later than usual." He playfully groped her butt, then winked at her as
he turned toward the door. "We'll be out on the south side of town
today," he explained.
"All right," she said, following him to the door. "Be careful."
Don walked down the sidewalk and climbed into the passenger side of the
pickup that bore a sign on the door proclaiming that O'Neal's Lawn
Service was "a cut above" the others.
"Mornin'" Frank said sleepily as he threw the truck into gear.
"Mornin'," Don agreed.
"Have a good weekend?"
"Like none you've ever seen," Don exclaimed.
"Oh yeah? Tell me about it!"
"It was fantastic! Missy and I took Jenny to the carnival Saturday
night, and we had the time of our lives! I can't remember a time when I
have had more fun!"
"How's that?" Frank inquired as he steered the truck onto the freeway
that led to the southern part of town where the more well-to-do
families lived in their large homes and had lawns that they wanted kept
in the best condition.
"Well, it started out like any other trip to the carnival. We took
Jenny to all the kiddy rides, the Ferris wheel, the bumper boats, and
the petting zoo. You know what I'm talking about. Kid stuff.
"Yea, boring, right?"
"Yea. That's what I thought. Until Jenny saw one of her little friends.
She begged and begged to go with her. Her parents said it would be
okay, so that left Missy and me all to ourselves! It was hard to
believe, at first. It's been a long time since she and I have had any
time alone together. Since the parents of Jenny's friend told us they
would meet us at the front gate at midnight, that gave us just over
three hours on our own! Believe me, I now know what they are talking
about when they say that someone felt like a kid in a candy store. That
is exactly how I felt! We didn't know where to start!"
"So you had a good time?" Frank was already losing interest, his mind
was mostly on maneuvering the truck and trailer loaded with lawn
equipment through the morning traffic.
"Yea. We started out walking through the animal exhibits, and then we
went to a booth where you try to throw a plastic ring around the neck
of a Coke bottle to win a stuffed animal. I tried that a few times and
lost about a dollar and a half before I gave up.
"Next we went to the one where you have to throw three softballs into a
peach basket. It looks simple, but it's harder than you think! You
should have seen me, I tried a few times and every time the ball would
just bounce right out. Or I'd get two in and the third one would just
hop right out! I got so mad! By the time, I had spent about ten
dollars; I was cussing and spitting! If Missy hadn't stopped me, I
would have either spent a hundred dollars there, or I would have torn
the place down out of frustration!
Frank nodded, or sometimes grunted agreement at appropriate places,
signaling that he was at least hearing the conversation. Don seemed not
to care; he was enjoying the story, himself.
"But what that really turned things around was that in order to get me
settled down, Missy had to take the softballs out of my hand and throw
them herself. She said, 'Here, throw them easy like this,' and she just
lobbed one in underhanded, nice and simple and it settled in the basket
just as pretty as you please! She did all three of them like that and
won a cute little bear with angel wings! I've never seen anything quite
like it.
"But that wasn't enough! It didn't stop there! Oh, no! She went eight
more rounds after that, and only lost ONE of those rounds! She probably
would have kept on all night but there wasn't any bigger prize to win!
She won the biggest, ugliest, stupid looking pink dog I have ever seen!
I laugh at it every time I see it!
"Oh, man, we had a great time."
By this time, they had arrived at the first house and were unloading
the mowers and weed trimmers. "We took her prizes back to the car so we
wouldn't have to carry them around to all the rides. This is where it
really got interesting!"
Frank looked up. This got his attention! "What happened next?" he
asked.
"Well, we had parked near the back of the lot, right up next to the
woods. After we put the stuffed animals in the trunk, we.... Well,
let's just say that Missy didn't have to buy a ticket to ride any more
rides that night!"
"It sounds like you DID have a good weekend!" Frank said with a wink.
"Let's get to work. I hate this yard, too many damn trees and prissy
flower beds!"
"Frank, your problem is you don't have a romantic bone in your
body!"
"Shut up and get to work!" Frank said with a laugh.
Don cranked the large green lawn tractor and climbed on. He enjoyed his
tours of duty on the tractor. They gave him time to delve into his own
thoughts without interruption. Today, his mind turned back to the night
of the carnival. He thought back to the fun he and Missy had had on the
rides and at the games. Most of all, he thought back on how beautiful
she had looked that night.
They had loaded the psychedelic menagerie into the trunk of their car
and, after shutting the lid, Missy had turned to go back to the
carnival. Before she could finish her turn, he had caught her hand. She
turned back and looked up into his eyes. For a minute, he forgot to
breathe.
With the chaotic sounds of carnival in the background and the swirl and
blink of a thousand lights, her eyes were to him like still pools in
the midst of a storm.
She stepped up to him and he backed up against the rear of the car. She
moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. His hands crept up to
her face; his fingers traced the outline of her eyebrows, her lips, her
ears. She was more beautiful than the first day they met. He had fallen
in love with her then and he was still in love with her now.
Without a word, they met in a kiss, a kiss that was more than a single
act, more than an expression of affection. It was all that and more. It
was an experience that summed up all of the feelings that they had held
for each other since they had first started dating almost ten years
earlier. That kiss had been more than just a kiss; it had been a
communion of souls.
Don smiled as he drove the tractor across the yard for the fifteenth or
twentieth time. His mind was on how they had rolled over on top of the
trunk of the car, kissing and whispering sweet words of affection to
each other.
At some point, Missy had sat up and slid off the back of the car. She
had reached her hand out to him and had led him around to the side of
the car, wordlessly escorting him into the back seat.
Reaching across the seat, she had poked the key into the ignition and
turned the power on so the radio would play. When she turned back to
him, he cupped her face in the palm of his callused hand. The garish
light of the carnival reflected serenely from the depths of her eyes.
God, he could get lost in those eyes; she was beautiful!
He leaned forward and kissed her soft, sticky lips; he could taste the
sweet flavor of cotton candy on her breath. How long had it been since
they had made out in the back seat of a car, he wondered. The last time
he could remember was before Jenny had been born. He studied her face.
The line of her jaw was still as firm, her nose was still as graceful,
and the corners of her mouth still turned up at the corners, just like
the college sophomore she had been when they first met.
She had been a prize then and she still was now! When he had proposed
to her at the homecoming dance, he had told her that he couldn't
imagine loving her any more than he loved her at that moment. Yet here
he was, more than a decade later, his heart so full of love for this
woman that it easily eclipsed the feelings he had had for her at that
time. It amazed him how much their love had grown.
His rough fingers slid down the smoothness of her neck and settled on
her chest. He could feel that her heart was beating as rapidly as his
own. Could she be thinking thoughts similar to his? In addition to the
beat of her heart, he felt another vibration, which he did not
recognize at first. Then it occurred to him that she had moaned. The
music and sounds of the carnival had drowned the sound that his palm
had detected. He leaned in to her and pressed his lips against hers. As
he did, he felt her soft fingers cover his ear and then clutch his
hair. This time, he felt the vibration of her moan on her lips. His
fingers moved on their own, working to open the buttons on the front of
her thin cotton blouse.
He felt her fingers tighten their hold on his hair as she pulled his
mouth more tightly against hers. With four of her buttons opened, he
was able to reach into her blouse where his hand explored the smooth
round curve of her breast. He reached around with his other hand to
unclasp the hooks, which would free her of the confines of her bra.
When he did this, he felt her pull away. For a moment, he was confused;
he couldn't figure out what was wrong. She turned away from him. But
why? Then she leaned back across his chest, kissing him. She grasped
his hand and brought it back to her breast. He smiled into her lips and
returned her kiss.
He cupped her breast as if it were the first time; as if they were back
in school and they were on their first date. Never had he felt so vital
and alive! It was as if he were discovering how to make love to her all
over again. She moaned into his mouth and he redoubled his
efforts.
His fingers encountered the soft circle of her nipple with its hard
center. He gently pulled at this amazing new discovery, pinching it
softly between thumb and forefinger. He released his grip on it only
long enough to fondle her breast with his whole hand and lift it toward
his mouth, which eagerly took it. His lips resumed the work his fingers
had begun; now he could hear her moans and the sharp intake of her
breath each time he renewed the suction on her nipple. Her fingers
combed through his hair as she arched her back and pulled his head
against her chest. For the life of him, he couldn't remember why they
didn't make out like this more often!
By the time he was thinking these thoughts, the yard was nearly halfway
finished. Today, he was truly thankful that this client had so much
land. He looked down the smooth flat surface of the lawn that he had
completed and his thoughts returned to the previous Saturday night and
the smooth flat surface of Missy's belly. He had always admired her for
the way she maintained her body. She had been on the swim team during
all four years of college and had worked hard to stay in shape ever
since.
He pressed the gas pedal and resumed mowing and his mind drifted back
to Saturday night and the way his hand had left the pillowy softness of
her breast to sweep across the satiny field of her stomach. The
softness he encountered was divine, the tiny hairs thrilling his
fingertips. She twitched a little when he apparently brushed across a
ticklish spot; he could feel her shiver with excitement. She wrapped
her hand around behind his neck and kissed him deeply. As he tickled
her, she sucked her tummy in, allowing his fingers to explore further
south.
Trundling along on the lawn tractor, he became aroused as he remembered
the warmth and the wetness that his fingers encountered between her
legs. She had gasped loudly when he made the discovery then she parted
her legs further to allow him easier access. His fingers skillfully
caressed her until she suddenly grabbed his hand by the wrist. "No! NO!
Not too much! Not yet!" she whispered earnestly.
He removed his hand as she unsnapped her cut-off jeans and lowered her
zipper. He admired the silky smoothness of her legs as she pushed her
shorts down and kicked them into the floorboard. When he looked back up
at her face, he discovered that his angel was now wearing an evil
grin.
She turned and unbuckled his belt and slowly opened his pants. Her
fingers were warm and gentle when she touched him; he began to bulge
immediately. Missy pulled his pants down to his knees then leaned down
and placed her lips tenderly on the tip of his erection. He could feel
the warmth of her breath through the cotton material. He was beginning
to ache now.
She folded the top of his briefs down, then pulled them down to his
thighs. She turned her body to face him, then straddled his knees,
still wearing that mischievous smile.
"But, what if...."
"Don't say a word," she whispered, pulling his shirt off over his head.
He looked over his left shoulder, then his right, looking through the
back window to see if anyone was near. By then, she was combing her
fingers up and down through the thick hair on his chest and kissing his
neck and shoulder. At that point, he would not have objected even if
there were a dozen spotlights trained on the car and the Pope was on
parking-lot duty!
She kissed his chest, then ran her tongue around his nipple just before
sucking it. When she sucked it, she sucked it hard, causing him the
briefest flare of pain, the kind of pain that he found to be highly
erotic. Next, she sat up on her knees and buried his face in her chest,
as if to smother him with her breasts. While she did that, he grabbed
her bottom and squeezed. He always loved the firm softness of her ass.
She held his head where it was, hugging it close to her and he
discovered that if he were pressed, he would find it difficult to
choose between her breasts and her behind!
While she was up on her knees, he watched as she swept the soft white
cloth of her panties aside and slowly enveloped his aching desire. The
pleasure ran so deep that he felt as if it would overwhelm him; his
heart galloped in his chest. He inhaled sharply; he was amazed at how
greedy she was to take him, to have him, to give him her all. For a
moment, she sat still on his lap and they both savored the intensity of
the moment: the feeling, the emotion, the passion!
"Hey Don!" Frank's voice boomed. "What the hell ya doin'? Takin' a
vacation?"
Don looked around, startled. He had stopped mowing long enough to blot
sweat from his forehead, and he had been so lost in his reminiscence
that he had neglected to start again. He had been sitting on the idling
mower, staring stupidly at the ground ahead of him when Frank had
approached him.
"I was just takin' a break. It's hot today!" Don turned away,
embarrassed, and put the mower back into gear.
"Don't work too hard!" Don shouted after him, laughingly.
Don laughed at himself and settled back into his thoughts while he
mowed the final few passes on the large front lawn. He thought of how
she had begun to move: slowly and gently. As they found their rhythm,
the world had disappeared in a shimmering fog. The lights, the rumble
of the rides, and the screams and laughter of children had all faded
away to nothing while they floated untethered on the sea of their lust
and desire. Through it all, her angelic face hung before his eyes like
a winter moon. In the end, they lay exhausted and panting on the back
seat of the family car; the music from the radio lulling them into a
contented sleep.
What happened next is what had reminded him of why they had stopped
making out in the back seat cars. They slept serenely while rockets and
flares rose above the fairgrounds and bloomed in flaming starbursts.
The thudding boom of the grand finale finally woke them. Don chuckled
to himself as he recalled how they had jumped up with a start at the
noise. When they sat up, they realized that they had been awakened just
as everyone was heading back to their cars. Many people had already
started toward their car in order to avoid the heavy homebound traffic.
Don and Missy laughed together as they scrambled to grab their clothes
and dress themselves before they could be discovered.
Five minutes later, they were walking hand in hand toward the front
gate of the carnival. Jenny and her friend were already there. When
Jenny saw them, she ran headlong through the crowd and leapt into the
air. Don caught her and hugged her close.
"Look what I won, Daddy!" she shouted, gleefully, holding out a small
blue stuffed animal that looked a little like a frog.
Don smiled to himself as he disengaged the lawn mower's blade, finally
finished with the front yard. He drove the mower over to the pickup
where Frank was sitting, eating his lunch. He parked next to the truck
and reached through the passenger-side window to take his cell phone
from the glove box.
After dialing 411 information, he dialed the number that the robot
voice had given him. He spoke for a few minutes to the person at the
other end before hanging up. Later that afternoon, a delivery man
brought a dozen long-stemmed roses to Missy's front door.
The card that accompanied it read:

One is not enough,
can never have too many.
I crave your kisses!

I love you!
Don